CLICK HERE FOR AUDIO: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3204952/2015-05-31_10-27-22_107.mp3
3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:3-5)
In the Name + of Jesus. AMEN. A common misunderstanding of being ‘born again’ is that it’s an experience for broken people. A way for outcasts and moral failures to ‘turn their life around.’ But, . . . Read All

It’s the capstone of the semester Domini and the entrance to the semester Ecclesia, the Feast of the. Holy Trinity. We celebrated together at St. Paul’s and then I got to play for the feast at Trinity in Worden. There is something about the hymns, readings and prayers on this day. The entire liturgy’s Trinitarian focus, which is always there, comes into sharp relief. Invocation, absolution, Gloria Patri, Kyrie, Gloria in Exclesis, termination to collects, triple alleluia, Athanasian, triple Sanctus and Benedictus, triple form of Agnus, Gloria Patri again at the Nunc, and then triple form in Aaronic benediction answered with three Amens. Trinity from start to finish! Indeed, we cry out every Sunday but today explicitly so: Blessed. . . Read All

By: Steve Dawson
Text: John 3:1-17
To Him who loves us and has washed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Most of you already have much by your first birth. When I say your first birth, I mean to say, when you were physically born into this life: fed by your mother at her side, clothed by your parents or guardians, educated by teachers, and so forth. By your first birth you have some of the following, if not all: the support of a good boss, the love of faithful employees, loving family, good friends, and a good . . . Read All

Holy Trinity, 2015
Isaiah 6:1-8
“Woe is me”
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
This world often brings us down. Many of the events that happen in our lives sadden us and draw us to self pity. It is at these times many have uttered the words, “woe is me.” The prophet Isaiah had another reason to say that phrase. Isaiah had been lifted to heaven. He heard the angels cry out “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3) The foundations and the thresholds of heaven shook around Isaiah as God spoke. And Isaiah, trembling
. . . Read All

The Romance of Protestantism, not lost on Lutherans, is the idea of a laity so thoroughly versed in the Scriptures and doctrinal teaching of the faith that they are well equipped to judge the preaching and teaching of the ministers and hold them accountable. But of course the reality is that people are sheep, they go where the desires lead them and too often are the witting and unwitting victims of apostate preachers and heretical teachers. Take a gander at a certain stadium/church in Houston, Texas.
The Romance of Protestantism, not lost on Lutherans, is that the laity are well catechized and well trained to know, to understand, and to defend the church’s faith against any and all attacker and. . . Read All

31 May, New Testament (Three Year Lectionary)
This major Christological feast commemorates the joyous visit Mary paid to her relative (probably her cousin) Elizabeth, following The Annunciation. Inspired by the amazing news that she was to become the mother of the Christ and in response to the joyous word that her old and previously barren kinswoman was also pregnant, she joined Elizabeth during her sixth month of pregnancy (see Luke 1:39-56).
After Mary declared the wondrously good news, Elizabeth replied to the Virgin, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! … Behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. (vv. 42, . . . Read All

The First Sunday after Pentecost The Feast of the Holy Trinity, or Trinity Sunday, is a movable festival on the Church calendar in Western Christendom. Its date of celebration depends, as do Lent, Ascension Day, and Pentecost, upon the date of Easter. …

Today’s Reading: John 3:1-17
Daily Lectionary: Numbers 35:9-30; Luke 24:28-53
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)
In the Name of + Jesus. Amen. Happy Trinity Sunday! …

“The Loving Father, the Lifted-Up Son, and the Life-Giving Spirit” (John 3:1-17)
The triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for our salvation. That’s what this Feast of the Holy Trinity is all about. This is not an occasion to strain our brains to try to figure out what for us, with our finite reason, is ultimately incomprehensible, namely, how there can be one God in three persons and at the same time three persons and only one God. That would blow out our circuits, if we even could comprehend it. Rather, the thing to do on this day is simply, with childlike faith, to receive the saving truth of the Trinity and to rejoice in the reality of the . . . Read All

+In Memoriam – Jane Reynolds+
October 3, 1957 – April 17, 2015
Redeemer Lutheran, HB
Isaiah 65:17-25; Revelation 21:1-7; Luke 23:33-24:12
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am . . . Read All

Almost all Christian feast days have their beginning with an event in the Bible. The feast of the Holy Trinity does not have an event or an account in the Bible. You won’t find the phrase “Trinity” anywhere in Scripture. Yet God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit make their mark on almost every page of the Bible. Without the manifestation of His triune divine essence, the Divine Service is mere idolatry. On the other hand, salvation and eternal life is included for all mankind in the revealing of His essence.
That is what Christ taught Nicodemus. Jesus preaches to him about the person of the Holy Spirit, without Whom no one enters into eternal life. . . . Read All

Great stuff found over on Pastor Mark Surburg’s blog:
During the years 111-113 A.D. a Roman named Pliny served as the appointed governor over the area Pontus-Bythinia in what is today Turkey. Although communication was by our standards painfully slow, governors like Pliny constantly consulted the Roman emperor by letter and asked for his decisions and judgments on matters. A large part of the job of a Roman emperor was to answer this endless correspondence that came in from all over the empire.
In Pontus-Bythinia Pliny encountered a group that prompted him to write to the Emperor Trajan. They were called “Christians” and Pliny was not exactly sure how to deal with them. In writing his letter Pliny . . . Read All

Christianity is not a conditional spirituality. It’s 100% receptive. You receive every blessing as a gift from God. In the body of Christ, you are the walking dead carrying the promise of forgiveness and life – a promise delivered and sealed in the wat…

You may have read here before reports of the German wing of the Roman Catholic acting independently, or perhaps of Cardinal Kasper’s insistence that the Germans are not merely a division of Rome. Now it appears a majority of the Roman Catholic Bishops in Germany have acted to show their independence. Read the whole story here. . .
With potentially far-reaching consequences, the bishops of Germany have voted by more than a two-thirds majority to relax Church labor laws to allow civilly remarried employees or those living in same-sex unions to retain their jobs with Church institutions.
In an announcement Tuesday, the German bishops’ conference in Bonn said the majority of bishops had ruled that immediate dismissal will only be . . . Read All

Sermon for the Visitation, preached in anticipation of the day, May 31, 2015.
We tend to view the sanctoral calendar and all its obscure saint’s days, feasts, and festivals as peripheral to the main stuff. But even then we typically think of the main stuff as having more to do with making today happy, ensuring a good tomorrow, and finding a way around troubles – more this than the business of sin and righteousness.
So the visit of Blessed Mary to St. Elizabeth, her cousin, is not a big day for more of us. Never mind that it is filled with surprise and drama. Two very unlikely mothers – one barren and one a virgin – who end up together. . . Read All

Light for My Path Daily Devotion Bible Reading Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns […]

Daily Lectionary: Numbers 32:1-6, 16-27; Luke 24:1-27
Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the Undivided Unity. Let us give glory to Him For He has shown mercy unto us. (Liturgical Text from the Introit for Trinity)
In the Name of + Jesus. Amen. Tomorrow …